My belief is that in every city you visit, you should ride an open top bus and see the city at a glance so you know what you really want to spend your time touring.
The shop owners love to dress the little kids. The Omani men wear these Kumas as their head wear.
Everyone was enjoying the sand and throwing rocks in the water, except for me. I do the beach thing because my kids love it. I hate sand.
Here was the entrance to The Cave. 
A selfie from the top of The Cave with the ocean in the back.
The carousel is always a favorite. 
Stuart had to ride in the tiny bumper cars with Millie because she couldn't reach the gas peddle.
By the time we got back to the hotel, the kids were asleep, but we think Jack was faking it. At any rate, they both were carried up to the room. Once Jack was in his bed and I kissed him good night he said, 'Can I have my iPad for 10 minutes?' Faker!
This is the entrance to Heritage Village. 
Across the gulf from Heritage Village is a perfect view of the city.
When shopping was complete, paint purchased as well as the rug, we headed to the grocery store for some laundry detergent and paper towels. We got home to Stuart making shepherd's pie.
The Suq is located under the archway right in the middle of the picture.
The obligatory selfie in front of the Suq.
That yacht was the Sultan of Oman's. It was as big as a cruise ship.
This is one of the many forts in Muscat.
A view of the ocean. The waves were a bit rough.
You can see the effects of the wind in this picture. Sitting on the beach were some local girls in some sort of uniform.
I couldn't resist this photo.
The building in the background was parliament.
A view of the palace.
Oman is more mountainous than the UAE.
Another fort.
Here are some calmer waters.
This is the entrance of the Suq.
After lunch we headed back to the hotel and took the kids to the pool. The water was freezing, but it didn't stop Jack and Millie from getting in.
Once the kids were clean we decided to head to the mall and eat at Chilis. The kids went straight to bed when we got back, and the adults played Pitch. My Dad and I were partners, which is best because we are both unbearable to live with if we lose. We played until after 11 pm and then decided we should hit the hay.
The middle of the night proved to be a little restless for me and Millie. I suppose the orange juice late in the evening is not a good idea for a dry bed after all. Um, I wonder how many little kids have peed on the sofa Millie was sleeping on? Don't want to think about it, thank you very much.
Once we were up and about on Monday morning we headed to the beach. We stopped in at Starbucks first and then the kids headed towards the sand.
A picture on the beach before the kids got into the sand.
The beginning of the sandy mess.
After washing the kids in the bathroom's ablution bath (which has to be offensive to the Islamic community), we headed to a place called The Cave. It was a man made cave with several restaurants in it. It seems it had just opened because not all the restaurants were finished. It was pricey so we opted not to eat there.
Instead of eating at The Cave we headed to a larger mall across the street from our hotel and ate at the food court. We then went back to the mall attached to our hotel and let the kids play in Happyland.
We headed back to the hotel and played games with the kids. On a friend's recommendation we ate dinner at Kareen, a local favorite. The food was gorgeous and the atmosphere was fantastic.
That is a mixed grill of meat with Arabic bread on the top. Yum!
We got up on Tuesday morning and took our time getting dressed and ready to check out. After checking out we ate lunch at the mall food court. We then headed back to Al Ain. We went to the wrong border post because the driver might have missed a turn off, but we didn't have as much of an issue as we suspected we would, thank goodness.
We fed the kids once we were home and unpacked, and then we all retired early.
Wednesday we got up and did laundry and just slugged around the house. I had a migraine so Grammie and Pop took the kids for a walk while I laid on the sofa, and Stuart went to renew his passport. After a migraine pull and several hours of doing absolutely nothing, I rebounded.
We invited the Richardsons over for dinner. We had nachos, the kids played and all were happy.
We got up on Thursday morning and headed to Abu Dhabi. I had won a canvas print from a local artist and was to pick it up that morning. I decided I would send it home with my mom and dad. We've run out of wall space in our house in Al Ain so there was no reason to frame something like that and then have to figure out how to get it home later.
After picking up the print we went to Heritage Village. This is a frequent spot for the visitors we have, so how my parents have not seen this is really unclear to me. They've seen it now.
We made a trip to Ikea as well as Ace Hardware, two of our favorite spots in Abu Dhabi. We had two things on our list for Ikea and they didn't have either one of them, yet we still managed to spend the equivalent of $75. How does that happen?
We made it back home by 6 pm. We didn't have New Year's Eve plans but Stuart wanted to go to the club to have a few beverages with some of his buddies. I drove him there and the plan was he would get a cab home. However, just before 9 he messaged me and said he was ready to come home, so I picked him up and he came home with me.
It was going to be an early night for us and ringing in the new year was going to be done when we woke up on Friday morning. But since we were watching CNN and heard the reports of a huge fire in downtown Dubai, close to the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world and the building where the firework display shoots off each New Year, we decided to stay up and see what would transpire.
In true UAE form, officials announced that the largest, longest firework display in Dubai would proceed as planned. There was a burning hotel about 500 meters away while a spectacular fireworks blew up off the Burj Khalifa and by the marina. Unbelievable!
We turned in just after midnight. We had rang in the New Year at midnight after all. Friday morning the kids were up relatively early. Stuart and I got up and headed to the club at 9 am for our weigh-in in order to be a part of the Biggest Loser club we have going on here in Al Ain. A new year, a new plan.
Mid morning we took the kids to Magic Planet, a new indoor carnival (for lack of a better description). They played games, rode rides, and got tickets to buy cheap prizes. This is my least favorite thing to do with them, but they love it.
We had a healthy lunch at the food court and then Stuart and I went grocery shopping while the kids had donuts and Grammie and Pop had coffee at Dunkin Donuts.
Friday evening we went to Scott and Clare's for a bar-b-que. We seem to be hanging out with them a lot over this holiday. We get along so well and our kids like each other, so that's nice.
The kids bathed at the Richardson's house so once we got in the car you can guess who was first asleep. Carrying her upstairs is much more relaxing for me for sure. Once both kids were in bed the adults played Pitch. My dad and I are a little brutal to my mom and Stuart so it was decided that in future Pitch matches we need to change partners. We all were in bed just after 10 pm.
Stuart got up Saturday morning and met Scott in Saniya, a place we all take our cars for needed repairs. It's cheaper than the dealer and they do the exact same work. Once he was back, we all parted again and he went to the airport in Dubai to get Cathy, Claire and Kayleigh. While Mom and I went shopping for paint and rugs, Pop stayed with the kids again. He enjoys that way more than going to the mall.
We ended up purchasing a hall runner for my mom. The original price was 950 dirhams and in the end he sold it to us for 200 dirhams (about $54). Most people can afford to have a run at that price, no matter the quality. I thought it was really nice and I am sure it will go well in their new house.
A sandstorm blew up in the middle of the day, as we were driving to the mall. Unfortunately, unlike Arizona, a dust storm doesn't mean their is rain to come. It usually means the air quality is going to be horrible for about a week. The visibility wasn't great.
Cathy came over for dinner and we had a good catch up. Her holiday in England was good and she seemed ready to return to work. That is where she and I differ. I am not anxious to go back to work, but it's a must I suppose.
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